Process of utilizing dried milk.



UNITED strAtrps PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN AUGUSTUS JUST, 0! SYRACUSE, NEW YORK; ANNIE L. JUST AND BENJAMIN STOLZ EXECUTORS OF SAID JOHN AUGUSTUS JUST, DECEASED.

PROCESS OF UTILIZING DRIED MILK.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flied August 20, 1907. Serial No. 389,827.

&

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

This invention relates to processes of utilizing dried milk; and it comprises a method of reconstituting milk from dried milk and of forming milk products of the usual taste or flavor, aroma and pro erties from such dried milk; all as more fu ly hereinafter set torthand as claimed.

Dried owdered milk has become a staple article of commerce as it contains all the nutritive values of the milk from which it was made in a much less volume and weight; as

y it is )erfectly permanent and practically germree, and as, when made by modern methods, as for instance b sharp drying milk on rotating cylinders mated to a temperature above 100 0., it is soluble in water and is readily applicable to domestic and culinary purposes. By usin such modern methods, dried milk can rea ily be made-in enormous quantities when milk is plentiful, as in spring and summer, and stored for use when milk is not so plentiful, as in winter. But it is foundthat in raetice, the milk reconstituted from such ried milk by the simple addition of the requisite amount of tater difi'ers somewhat from theoriginal milk in flavor, aroma and pro ertie's.;; .As a rule, these difierences are ascri ed to chari es in the milk albuminoids incident to the rying operation; but I have discovered .thi-s explanation not to be true; at least to any material extent. In part the changes appear to be due to simple loss of the natural volatile, aroma-giving constituents found in the milk as it is ordinarily used, probably by volatilization during the drying o eration; that is, the milk loses other volatiles than water during the drying operation. Part of the difference in flavor is probably due to 'this loss of aroma-giving constituents and the.residue to certain chemical changes in other constituents than prot-eids during thev drying.

As is well known, the flavor and aroma of milk as it ordinarily appears on the table are not those of the absolutely fresh milk as it is drawn from the udder. The latter has a flat flavor and aroma which are not as well liked as the flavor and aroma which appear after the milk has stood for awhile, as in the customary interval between milking and consumption of the milk. The acquired taste and odor, I have discovered, are largely, if not entirely due to the sapid and volatile products and it) developed in the'ordinary fermentative actions which take'place in milk after leaving the udder and which, up to thepoint where the milk becomes noticeably sour, that is develo )s a substantial amount of acidit are distinctly desirable. Many species o bacteria and other micro-orgamsms probably take part in these fermentative actions; some producing lactic acid and some not. Themilk within the udder ap ears to be absolutely sterile and bacteria-Free, but in passing through the milk ducts it becomes-- a ed milk are not found therefore in the mi -oi-dinary methods. while 1possessing a pleasant aroma and flavor different in both respects from na t. .ural milk which-has been aged slightly.

reconstituted from dried milk b the Such reconstitute milk is' 'stil Nor does such-milk on standing acquire the ordinary flavor of tablemilks, since though it is usually soon infected with microoriglanie life, the accidental organisms which n'd access to it are not ordinarily those natiual to milk and do not produce the same results as these natural organisms.

It is one of the objects of the resent inventi'on to restore to'recon'stituted milk, and

y-products to products made from it, the ordinary ac- I quired aroma and flavor of ordinary table milk. The ordinary reconstituted milk further differs from natural milk in that it is not readily caseified; on addition of rennet it does not gii e the ordinary agglutinating curd necessary for cheese-making and like purposes and for the production of junkets and similar products. This fact is probably due both to chemical changes in the milk incident to desiccation and to the ab sence of the natural organisms of milk and of their products. Rennet coagulates such reconstituted milk but slowly- 'In certain experiments which I have made, I prepared a rennet extract by shaking one gram of rennet powder with 20 cc. of water for 2 minutes and filtering. Addition of 0.5to 3 cc. of this extract to 20 cc. of fresh ordinary milk kept at 38 (1., gave the ordinary conglutinatmg coagulum after 5 minutes while the same quantity of the rennet. extract added to reconstituted milk of the same strength and at the same temperature in the same time gave a mass of the consistency of a crumbly cream without forming a conglutinating coagulum of the nature of that desired for cheese making. While a curd of this crumbly consistency is, desirable in making some articles for direct consumption, it is not well adapted for cheese mak- To some extent though not altogether, reconstituted milk made by the simple solution of dried milk resembles boiled milk in its relations to rennet; particularly if the milk has been heated to a temperature over 100 C., as in some methods of sterilizing. Natural milk heated to 100 (3., for 5 minutes is coagulated by rennet only after about 35 minutes action; after 60 ,minutes heating, 2 hours are required for coagula tion, and after one hours heating to a temperature of 120 (1., milk does not coagulate with rennet even in 5 hours. Even when milk to be dried isnot preliminarily neutralized more or less as it usually is, the dried product is found to be somewhat different in reaction upon litmus or other test paper from the original milk. In the reconstituted milk from dried milk there also appears to be-a slight change in, or diminution of, the soluble calcium salts. It is to these phenomena that the reluctance to caseification of reconstituted milk made from dried milk appears to be due, and upon allowing a little fermentation in it, with resultant production of fermentation products, and by adding a small amount of a soluble calcium salt, such as calcium chlorid,

the reconstituted milk-becomes susceptible to caseification in the ordinary manner, yielding to rennet like natural' milk and producing cheese in like manner.

A slight degree of fermentation, with its incident formation of soluble sapid substances and volatile odoriferous substances appears to be more lmportant 1n restorlng .the original flavor and aroma to reconstituted milk than is the addition of soluble calcium salts while in caseification or cheese makin the relative importance of the two operations is the reverse. That is, a reconstituted milk can be given very nearly the original flavor and aroma, or even a better,

by institution of a suitable fermentationtherein without addition of calcium salts while a cheese may be made from the reconstituted milk without any fermentation at .all by simply adding a small amount of a a suitable pabulum for the growth of any of theordinar bacteria and yeasts found in natural mil To produce a desirable type of fermentation therefore and avoid the fermentations due to accidental inoculations, it is enerally necessary to inoculate it artificial y with the desired organisms. In practice, the fact of this sterility is advantageous since it enables the use of selected organisms adapted to produce desirable aromas and flavors in lieu of the ordinary medley of organisms found in natural m lk; that is, the reconstituted milk and its products may be given the flavor and aroma of the best natural milk and milk products in lieu of the flavor and aroma of ordinary natural milk and milk products.

Various bacteria are known which produce good aromas and which reduce good flavors. Various lactic orgamsms produce good flavors in addition to producing lactic acid, though a good flavoring organismdoes not necessarily also produce lactic acid. ()t the aroma-producing organisms, not many also yield lactic acid. The flavor-producing organisms appear to be more numerous than the aroma-producing kinds, but there is not much definite knowledge as to either. A bacillus producin unusually good aromas has been isolated Ey Prof. Conn and is usually known merely by the number he gave it, N0. 41. This is a very suitable organism for inoculating reconstituted milk, but its action should ordinaril though not neces-' sired bacteria or kinds of bacteria, may be directly used for inoculating the reconstiskim milk must first be pasteurized, its teu1- )erature being kept for a time at to it? (1., and gradually reduced under gentle agitation to (35 to 69 C. It should be kept at the latter temperature for 30 minutes. It is convenient to keep the vessel containing the milk in a water bath, adding boiling water to the latter whenever the temperature begins to sink. Ai'fter elapse of the 30 minutes, the pasteurized milk is cooled by placing the containing vessel in cold or iced water, the cooling being stopped as soon as the temperature of the milk reaches-20 to 25 C. unless the air be unduly warm, in which case the cooling may be advantageously carried to 15 to 20 C. The pure culture is-now-added to the milk and the fermentation allowed to proceed until such milk becomes thick or creaml-ike in consistency, when it is ready for use as an inoculating fluid. Reconstituted milk, owing to its practical sterility does not require so much care in pasteurization.

For treating reconstituted milk to be flavored and given aroma, a small amount of this inoculating fluid is all that is required, from a half to fourer cent. being ordinarily sufiicient. This 0 ers a marked economy over-the use of pure cultures of theordinary types. The inoculating fluid also has the advantage of permitting the use of mixtures of or anisms of various types, since it may be initially treated with a plurality of pure cultures to produce a mixed culture. In

using such a mixed culture it is ordinarilyadvantageous that one of the initial cultures shall be that of the stated bacillus No. 41

.df Prof. Conn. With it in mixed cultures may be advantageously employed a lactic acid forming, flavor-producing or anism. Inoculatin fluids made from baci lus 41 alonemay e advantageously used for makmg milk and cream with a pure aroma. W1th this bacillus, the milk for making the inoculating fluid should be heated several times a day for three or' four days by pass- -m steam into it, or be otherwise fractional y sterilized. During growth, a tern erature around 23 C. is advantageous.

fter once producing the inoculating liquid from the ordinary pure cultures, it may be used to produce fresh inoculating li uid, until the action begins to weaken, whici may not :be for six to seven weeks. When this hapgpens 1t '15 best to produce a fresh lot from pure cultures. Since bacillus No. 41 does not produce acid, when reconstituted milk is treated with an inoculating fluid roduced from it alone, themilk will not readily sour, and it may be kept for long periods.

In natural milk in addition to the aroma producing organisms and the lactic bacteria, there are also certain other organisms which have a. distinctive action upon proteids, liquefyiug and peptonizing them and which in growth aflect casein, roducing sapid ro nets and, probably, a so affecting the ater cheese-making operations when cheese is made. In producing natural flavors, therefore, it is frequently desirable to introduce these casein gelatinizing or gelatinliquefying organisms together with the aroma-producing and flavor producing organisms; especially where the reconstituted milk is to be used to produce cheese.

While dry pure cultures, suitably diluted with lactose or other diluent, may be directly added to the dried milkbe'fore dissolving to produce reconstituted milk this is not so convenient as first making the reconstituted milk and then adding the culture or the inoculating fluid.

In. treating the reconstituted milk, it is brought to a temperature of about 18 to 24 C. before treatment and inoculated with the inoculating fluid or the pure culture. Fermentation is allowed to take place and continue at this temperature until the desired aroma and flavor are produced. Low temperatures give a slow evolution of flavor and aroma while a gradually elevated temerature will shorten the time required. rom 3 to 12 hours treatment with fermentation organisms are required at temperatures between 18 and 35 0., the time and tern erature required depending on the particu ar organismsemployed and the nature and purity of the reconstituted milk, or milk powder milk. After the fermentation has gone to the extent desired, the milk, if to be used as a substitute for, or in the same way as, ordinary natural milk may be treated in the same way. The fermentation should be but sli ht and not enough to produce any noticea 1e acidity, fermentation being arrested at about the point where il1B'1tCOIlStltuted' milk has about the taste and properties of ordinary table milk and is still sweet. 'On chllling, the fermentation will be arrested in the same way as in chilling natural milk, and the chilled reconstructed milk will keep in the same way and for as long a period as such chilled natural milk. Exceptv for a slight difference in the character of the soluble calcium salts, it is the same thing as the best grades of ordinary fresh ble calcium salt, such as calcium chlorid, before, during or after the described fermentation.

For cheese-making a reconstituted milk giving a ood, wellvored cheese may be obtained point of giving the milk the correct aroma and flavor. I find that though such calcium salts assist rennet to produce a conglutinating curd from reconstituted milk, by them-' selves, or at least in the proportions which I ordinarily use, they have no substantial coagulating or curd making power.

As a preferred example of my com lete process, I may take a thousand poun s of ordinary commercial dried milk powder and dissolve it in a thousand gallons of water. To this solution I add from half a per cent. to four per cent. of an inoculating fluid, made as described, and allow the mixture to stand at a good growing temperature, say 24 to 35 C. for 3 to 12 hours. This will result in a reconstituted milk having the creamy flavor and aroma of natural milk and not the more insipid taste and odor of ordinary reconstituted milk. This reconstituted milk may then be consumed as it is,

the fermentation organisms being of course harmless, or it may be chilled and stored in the same way as ordinary milk. The chilling will at oncev arrest the fermentation at the desired point. To the flavored, aromatized reconstituted milk, in the amount given, may now be added 112 to 336 grams of calcium chlorid. Other calcium salts may be used, but this is perfectly suitable. This somewhat improves the flavor and gives-the milk the power of caseification with rennet. When so desired, the fermentation may be omitted and the calcium salt directly added to the reconstituted milk as soon as formed. Such milk will then give cheese. But I prefer to employ both opera: tions.

In making cheese fronrthe reconstituted milk after addition of the calcium salt, with or without the flavor-giving fermentation, I bring the solution to a temperature of 29 to 33 (1, add the usual amount of rennet or rennetextract, thoroughly mix and allow to stand until caseification is complete. After coagulation, the temperature is raised to about 38 C. or more to harden the curd and allow a better separation of whey. The card is cut to allow better drainage. With the whey will generally ass away the bulk of the calcium salt used When the curd is fully drained, it is worked in molds, pressed, prepared and ripened in the usual way.

In lieu of specially prepared cultures, good flavored sour milk may be used for inoculating the reconstituted milk to institute fermentation, but as its bacterial flora is apt to be rather uncertain, it is generally pref-, erable to employ an inoculating fluid or a pure culture in the manner set forth. I

1. In the manufacture of milk products, the process of forming a reconstituted milk which consists in dissolving driedmilk in water, inoculating the solution with suitable fermentative organisms, allowing the inoculated solution to stand at a suitable growing temperature until a creamy flavor and aroma like that of table milk develop, and arrest ing the fermentation at this point before any. substantial amount of acid'is formed.

2. In the manufacture 'of milk products,

- the process of forming a reconstituted milk which consists in dissolving dried milk in water, inoculatlng the solution with aromaproducing organisms, allowing the inoculated solution to stand at a suitable growing temperature until a creamy aroma like that of table milk develops, and arresting the fermentation at this point before any substantial amount of acid is formed.

3. In the manufacture of milk products, theprocess of forming a reconstituted milk which consists in dissolvin dried milk in water, inoculating the solution with aromaproducing organisms and lactic organisms, and allowing the inoculated solution to stand at a suitable growin temperature until a creamy aroma and avor like that of table milk develop and arresting the fer: mentation at this tial amount of aci is formed.

4. In the manufacture of milk products, the process of forming a reconstituted milk which consists in dissolvi dried milk in water, inoculating the solutlon with suitable fermentative organisms, allowing the inoculated solution to stand at a suitable grow- (pointibefore any substan ing temperature until a creamy aroma like 5. In the manufacture of milk products;

the process which comprises the steps 0 forming a solution of dried milk 1n water and adding a soluble calcium salt thereto.

6. In the manufacture of milk products, the process which comprises dissolvmg dr ed milk in water, inoculating the solutlon with suitable fermentative organisms, allowmg the inoculated solution tostand at a suitable growing temperature until a creamy aroma develops, arresting the fermentation at this point. adding a soluble calcium salt, treating the solution with rennet to coagulate 1t and treating thecurd by cheese-making processes. c I

cause 7. In the manufacture of milk products, the process which comprises dissolvmg dried milk in water, inoculating the solution with aroma-producing organisms and with lactic organisms, allowin the inoculated solution to stand at a suita le growing temperature until a creamy aroma and flavor develop, arresting the fermentation at this point, add ing a soluble calcium salt, treating the solution with rennet to coagulate it and treating the curd by cheese-making steps.

8. In the manufacture of milk products,

the process which comprises treating a so lution of dried milk in wateri'with a soluble calcium salt, treating the solution with rennet to coagulate it and treating the curd by cheese-making ste s. I

In testimony w ereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. n

JOHN AUGUSTUS JUST. Witnesses:

W. V. BAUGHMAN, WM. WATKINS. 

